weird sisters

A common pastime at my primary school was collecting and swapping scraps – die-cut paper images. The scrapbook was an old paperback, each page containing a single scrap or set – the same design in different sizes. At playtime, collectors exchanged scrap books and thumbed through the pages, poking scraps of interest out of the…

The witches in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” are often interpreted as representing the Fates of classical mythology. They appear at the birth of each person, spinning, measuring, and cutting the thread of life. The Old English word ‘wyrd’ or ‘weird’ means ‘fate’. Lachesis measured the thread of life allotted to each person with her measuring rod. Acrylic…

“The Others”: people who don’t conform with societal norms, and are therefore alienated or marginalised by powerful social institutions, such as the state or the church. Such as the witches in Shakespeare’s Macbeth? Acrylic on 300gsm Fabriano Artistico paper 14x19cm £45

Blood on their hands … Acrylic on 300gsm Fabriano Artistico paper 14x19cm £45 Macbeth: How now, you secret, black, and midnight hags? What is ’t you do? The Witches: A deed without a name. Shakespeare “Macbeth” Act 4, Scene 1

In 1697, Paisley, Renfrewshire, Christian Shaw, daughter of the Laird of Bargarran, complained of being tormented by local witches. Seven people, known as the Paisley, Bargarran or Renfrewshire witches, were found guilty of having bewitched Shaw and were condemned to death. Five of them were hanged then burned on the Gallow Green in Paisley on…

Linocut 18x18cm Edition: 7 £60 Macbeth, Act 1, Scene i. A desert place. Thunder and lightning. Enter three Witches First Witch When shall we three meet again In thunder, lightning, or in rain? Second Witch When the hurlyburly’s done, When the battle’s lost and won. Third Witch That will be ere the set of sun.…

Shakespeare perhaps based the three witches in Macbeth on Raphael Holinshed’s History of Britain, The Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1587) . In Holinshed’s account of King Duncan, Macbeth and Banquo encounter three women in “strange and wild apparell …the common opinion was that these women were either the Weird Sisters, that is… the…

Even the three Graces can be made to look sinister in the right light … The role of the three witches in Shakepeare’s Macbeth is ambiguous – they are never actually referred to as witches in the play. One interpretation is that they were inspired by the Fates – the Moirai of Greek mythology -…

Delia, Mary and Nigella as the witches in Macbeth …. Screenprint 40x30cm Varied edition: 11 prints £100 Fillet of a fenny snake, In the cauldron boil and bake; Eye of newt and toe of frog, Wool of bat and tongue of dog, Adder’s fork and blind-worm’s sting, Lizard’s leg and owlet’s wing, For a charm…

The witches in Shakespeare’s Macbeth mention three familiars: Greymalkin, a gray cat; Paddock, a toad; and Harpier, an owl. The witches’ face is also familiar, the face of soprano Lina Cavalieri, used by Piero Fornasetti as a motif in much of his work. Screenprint 40x30cm Edition: 7 £100

The three witches are characters in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, often referred to as “the Scottish play” in the world of theatre. A possible source of inspiration for these characters the three Fates of Greek mythology, who control the life of every mortal from birth to death: one spinning the metaphorical thread of life, one measuring…

The three witches are characters in William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, often referred to as “the Scottish play” in the world of theatre. A possible source of inspiration for these characters is ancient classical myths of the three Fates, who control the life of every mortal from birth to death: one spinning the metaphorical thread of…

Etching 200x248mm Edition:19 £75 Double, double toil and trouble, Fire burn, and caldron bubble. Fillet of a fenny snake, In the caldron boil and bake. Eye of newt, and toe of frog, Wool of bat, and tongue of dog, Adder’s fork and blind-worm’s sting, Lizard’s leg, and owlet’s wing, For a charm of powerful trouble,…